Obama: US Could Go Broke Unless Healthcare Is Reformed

[turnpike boy]

Finally, a link to the report.

And a fascinating report it is! The US is 37th. because - as the 3rd. to last paragraph identifies - we evidently aren't fair in how we pay for healthcare. Of course, there is no objective parameter for what constitutes fairness.....only that, if all aren't treated exactly the same, it ain't fair.

Damn. And here I thought we were expected to make our own way in the world. You mean somebody else is responsible for me??? No wonder Obama got elected...I'm so out of touch with reality.

"In North America, Canada rates as the country with the fairest mechanism for health system finance – ranked at 17-19, while the United States is at 54-55. Cuba is the highest among Latin American and Caribbean nations at 23-25."

Hey, Canadians amongst us - how you feel about this? I'm not sure we need to ask the Cubans, as they've been mighty vocal about things there for a looong time.

But then again, we are pretty good at those things that make the quality of life pleasurable - "Responsiveness: Responsiveness includes two major components. These are (a) respect for persons (including dignity, confidentiality and autonomy of individuals and families to decide about their own health); and (b) client orientation (including prompt attention, access to social support networks during care, quality of basic amenities and choice of provider).", conditions that are apparently kinda easy to identify.

Huh. This, in reference to an earlier paragraph "Responsiveness: The nations with the most responsive health systems are the United States, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Denmark, Germany, Japan, Canada, Norway, Netherlands and Sweden....." Odd that we don't find France in here, isn't it?

Too much cut-and-paste here for me. And I need to find their objective ratings for Overall Level Of Health, which I would think to be a major factor in a report of this kind, and see where the US ranks in that category.

I'm off. See you later with what I find.

[Wayne Maybury]

Well I was going to stay out of this one but since you asked, what the he!!, I might as well jump in.

I think that many of the facts tend to be manipulated to suit one's needs. I really do not think that there is one system that is far better than another. Each system has it's strong and weak points. I like many others here feel that the government cannot run anything properly. Having said that, a strong point for socialized medicine is that no one is making a big profit. There are no very highly paid executives in ivory towers. I cannot remember the exact numbers but I think something like 14 cents out of every medical dollar in the US goes to administrative costs whereas that is only 2 cents per Canadian medical dollar spent.

It is true that there are line ups in emergency rooms up here and it can take time to get an appointment. However we have to look beyond that. If someone is really sick, they tend to be treated very quickly. Herein lies one of the big problems of socialized medicine. There is over crowding because it is free. I think that there should be a minimal charge involved when seeing a doctor or going to an ER. This would weed out a lot of people that do not really need to be there in the first place.

Is socialized medicine for everyone? Probably not. The US has a great system right now. It is up to you to decide but please don't think that the Canadian system stinks. Our system may not be perfect but it is very good. A small charge when visiting a doctor would go a long way to making it better by eliminating the over crowding.

Wayne

[turnpike boy]

A real response, not politically-laden.

I got to believe that your single statement - "...Our system may not be perfect but it is very good" - is probably the most honest and objective analysis any individual can provide. There is no be-all, end-all system that is perfect.